More than 150 drink or drug drivers charged over festive season

Members of the public have been praised by police for their part in seeing 157 people charged with drink or drug driving offences across West Yorkshire last month.

Of those charged, 124 were men and 31 were women charged for drink driving offences, and two men were charged with driving under the influence of drugs.

They included 54 people from Leeds, 34 from Bradford, 31 from Kirklees, 29 from Wakefield and 10 from Calderdale.

The most common age range for those charged was 25-34.

West Yorkshire Police supported a national Christmas anti-drink driving campaign throughout December by encouraging members of the public to ‘dob in a drink or drug driver’.

The number of people charged with offences last month is down on the same period last year when 183 people were charged.

Inspector Joanne Field, who leads the force’s Roads Policing Unit, said: “We would like to thank concerned members of the public who reported drivers who they suspected were under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

“We offered them an easy and efficient way to report drivers they believed to be affected by alcohol or drugs and this seems to have made potential offenders think twice before getting behind the wheel over the festive period.

“The number of drink driving charges is decreasing nationally which is a step in the right direction – this could be that we have been constantly reminding people about the consequences, or people have decided that it is simply not worth the risk.

“We are still concerned about the number of young people who have been charged. Drink driving can have devastating consequences for the person behind the wheel and for other drivers on the roads or pedestrians.

“We are extremely pleased to see a drop in the figures a year on and we hope that the public will continue to support this campaign throughout the rest of the year to help us do everything we can to deter people from driving under the influence.”

Members of the public are still able to report concerns about anyone getting behind the wheel under the influence. Information can be given to police call handlers via the 101 non-emergency number.